If you hate Dream Theater don't come here and tell us you hate them. Most people come to find out whether the album is good or not. I don't go post hateful comments to Justin Bieber reviews because it's pointless.

That being said, as a lifelong Dream Theater fan who is not a "fanboy", I can attest that this is a great album that grows on you with each listen. I must emphasize that this is a real grower. Some person favorites would be The Looking Glass, The Bigger Picture and Illumination Theory. The latter is a masterpiece that gives me chills every time I listen to it. The musicianship stands out as always, but in particular James LaBrie really sings his heart out on this album. A noticeable improvement over the last few albums.

And to add the the comments about their music lacking soul, I defy you to listen to Petrucci's guitar solo in The Best of Times and not feel something (I know, different album).

To sum up in a sentence, if you like Dream Theater, buy the album you'll love it. If you don't like them, give it a try anyway. You never know, you might realize there's a whole other world of music out there

Album is not that bad, but the DT standards are high and most of this material is more bland than a
big part of petrucci and co previous works. Album is good but nothing more, anyways, the last track is
a diamond in rough.

you clearly are one if you rate this a 4.5
album is average as hell.
don't be fooled into thinking Illumination Theory is good because it goes for 20 minutes. it's just as average as the rest of the album.